Zealand Institute of Business and Technology, Denmark

Christmas holidays are over and my time in Denmark is almost over, too. It was really nice to see my family and friends again after 3 months, but it was yet another adjustment, because I got so used to life in Denmark.

I like that Danish supermarkets are open until 10 p.m. every day, even on Sundays – but in Germany, most products are much cheaper!

When I go through my home city I can understand what the people around me are saying – that’s great :`D. To be honest, I tried to learn Danish, but it’s really not easy … even though it’s basically like a mix of German and English. And then there are words that are neither English nor German and they make no sense at all :D. Our International Office-coordinator explained to us: “Danish sound as if someone was trying to speak with a potato in his mouth.” That’s so true! I might not be able to speak Danish, but I can understand a lot – it’s not so hard if you know the context.

After I arrived in Germany, I visited some friends and went to the Christmas market in Leipzig. It was nice to get a bit of Christmas spirit - there wasn’t much in the residence in Roskilde, because it was barely decorated. But it felt weird, too, being in Germany and having a new daily routine after 4 months.

However, I didn’t fall into a deep hole (our coordinator warned us that this might happen). Being able to draw direct comparisons between the two countries is fascinating. Denmark, for example, has a very modern health care system. In an earlier blog entry I mentioned the “yellow card”. You take this card with you when you go to the doctor and with the CPR number on it, they can access the necessary data from your online account. If you have an appointment, you swipe your card through a scanner and wait until it’s your turn. Prescriptions are send to your online account as well. On the other hand, it’s really difficult, if you don’t have a Danish mobile number. This would be my number 1 advice to anyone who wants to live in Denmark.

Also, Christmas traditions are different in Denmark. In Germany, I usually bake many different sorts of cookies. In Denmark you only bake 3 or 4 sorts, but in huge amounts :D. At Christmas Eve they sing and dance around the tree and eat rice pudding for desert. The person who finds the almond hidden in the pudding gets a Prize.

I’m looking forward to find more of these interesting differences that the others do not perceive the same way.